Can-arranging machine



,Spt 4, 1934- A. E. Rmx-:OUT E'r AL 1,972,489

CAN ARRANGNG MACHINE Filed July i, 1953 lill! lllll Psi-enea sept. 4, 1934 intenso CAN- ARRANGING momma Arthur E, Rideout, Wilmette, Ill., and .John B. Mosley, Jackson Heights, N.,Y.,llllnol's to Standard-Knapp Corporation, Longr Island City, N. Y., e corporation o! New York Application .my 1, 1933, No; 678,582

This invention relates to erticle-handling machinery and particularly to a machine adapted to arrange tin cans received in bulk from a steam cooker or other source of supply in orderly aline- I 'tot nient and deliver such cans in spaced reletion and in the same relative lpositions toa labelling machine, packingmachiiie or'otherpoint o! delivery. Inputting'up vegetables and other food stuffs in Y `eens, it is the common practice to'liandle such '10*l cans during the cooking operation large metal baskets holding one hundred or. more cans.' After the desired period offzooking,` the metal basket containingthe hot cans is transported by an overhead conveyor to' the lalbelling or pecking departl ment and the cans 4discharged on a' suitable table 1 or hopper in a pile from whiclrfthey mustbe teken by hand and delivered in proper position 'and spaced relation to the feed conveyors which carrythem to the labelling machine or other destination. y

The object of the present invention is to proviol niecii'n'e-vvhich will receive the cans vin bulk from the metal baskets 'to vvhich'they are delivered trein 'the cooker 'and sort 'them out' without khand 9551": laborof any kind and deliver them to the labelling niaoliiiieinfth desired order.

Inf sortihgoutfthe cans they-have to be arranged iii aplurellityof rows with the cans in each 1ow" iyin`g on their sidesinend to end-'spaced relatiom 'Theseiovvs of cans' are then brought together into 'a single line by converging'chutes which atl'lowv the'cans to rollforwardon their si'l'es'atfri'ght -angle's to their previous direction of when handingteiicans, that means in which the icpgitucnai dimension is substantiauy great- -er4 than tlie'dia'nieten not much diiliculty is enolinteied 'ineausing the cans standing on end to turn on. their/ sides in end to end relationship 4D after, or as, they are arranged in-rows. However,`

vvith short eens where the height ofi'tlie can is not niuc'ligreater than the'V diameter, or-is less than ti''e diameter, it becomes something of a problem ttiirir' suchcans on their sides.

lo *f- "I'lie prti'c'ular obiect of thepres'ent invention is to provide a machine of the sort previously referrdtowhich isespecially adapted for 'handling short cans. It'willbe understood, however, that th'e present mdchine mayii desired also be used s claims. (o1. its-331 of the machine taken on a. piane inciteaby 1111i;-l

1-"1 of Fig. 2, a load of cans havin! plceedf upon the receiving end of the machine;

` Fig. 2 represents a pien view, of the Fig. 3j represents al .fragmentary lQllitudinal U3 section drawnto'an enlarged scale taken on a plane indicated by line 3-3 ofllg. 2j; f i. Fics.. 4y and 5 rerresenti views to illustrate theoperetibh of' iFis- 6 represents a sectioiisl `view. @lriw'n to, cl still further enlarged scale, the chute tratedin Fig. 3 with a canthereomend 1 'Tis a. transverse vsection online '1 -I of 6. f :er

Referring now to the accompanying The frame 1 of the machine comprises suitablej. longitudinal steel members riveted or welded gether in any approved manner. {Tlie can-reis: ceiving end is preferably lower than thedclivery u end.; Supported et the can-receiving en d of theI machine on .suitable rolls 2 and 3 is a wide con veyor-belt 4 which is continuously driven through; connections to be later described from a suitable" drivimi` motor 4 and a reducixiczccrc i. the opposite end of the machine. *I The' upp er reach oi conveyorebelt 411s supported upon a series of transverse rolls 'l spaced. suiliciently close together to enable thebelt to support, without undue sagging, a charge oi" cans, received from one of the metal baskets previously referred to, which has just come from the cooker.` Supported on the frame of the nmol-line the. belt 4 is a nat hopper a formed of apnrcpriate^- side plates and a. single end plate as inl n' Fig. 2, the inner edges of vlthere plates overlyingv the belt 4 so that cans 'supportedby the hopper will `be allowed to gradusiiy'descend Aonto conveyor as the cans at the center 'of tliemassor stack are carried forward. "i A u AImmediately in advance of the pulley 2 is e.'

second conveyor belt 9 of the same width as belt 4, but with'its end adjacent the belt 4 at c some--- what lower` level thanthcib'elt 4. Beit iriii'siip:y

ported en double pulleys 10, mountediin the 10g frame 1 of the machine closely adiacent topulleyf 2 and. by a third pulleyll by lwhich the belt isf continuously driven from motori by connections' tenente: described. i

`overlying the upper'reach'o'f belt 9 are a plu-'f 105 rality of straight, stationary horizontal rods or bars 12 extending longitudinally of theinachine and atan elevation above the surface of belt somewhat dess than die diameter' or ;.1."... belt 4 by a cross-member -13 between the pulleys 2 and 10 and at a height somewhat below the upper surface of the belt 4. The barsextcnd to the opposite end of belt 9 where they are sup- 5 ported directly over pulley 11 by short rods 14 which are suspended irom crossbar lbpheld by brackets-l'.secured.'to'-tl'iejraxiiey l of the machine. The bai's"i2`ai spaced apart 'a distance some what greater than the diameter of the cans. For small cans, for whichthis machine is primarily intended, the distance between the adjacent surfaces of adjacent rods is in the neighborhood of 1'1/4 times the diameter of the cans, and possibly somewhat less. Some of the cans discharged onto the bars 12 will enter betweenthe bars and come into contact with the surface-of belt 9, either standing on end or lying on the aside. "Although cans which are not much taller than. theindiameter cannot span the distance between the rods so as to be 'supported at each end in the horizontal position thereby, a large, number of the cans discharged onto th'e 'bars'wll besupported at 'an angular position/somewhat as shown in Fig.v 5 whollyby'the' bars and carried along by engagement with fthe cans 'lying `on the be'lt.

yBlittons o'r lugs 16A of 'the shape shown more specifically inFigsL'fi and 5 are attached to the bars 12 at intervals and in staggered relation as shown, said buttons serving, as will be lateridescribed, 'td engage the cans not resting squarely on the belt as described, and deflect Ysuch cans into position to drop between, the bars onto the belt.

.In advance of conveyor-belt 9 yis'a third con- 3 veyo'r-belt 17 of the same width as the previous belts and supported at its receiving end on a pair of'double pulleys 19 'at an elevation somewhat lower than the upper face of belt 9. At its opposite end itis supported by'pullcy 19 by which the gbeltis coiciiinuouslyl driven from Imotor 5. A fourthj conveyor-belt 20 is arranged in advance of belt 17 and carried by'pulleys 21and 22 which are also mounted inthe trame 'l ofthe machine, pulley`22 serving to drive belt 20 continuously .1L through `connections later to be described from 'Dmotor 5.

A second series'of spaced, stationary bars' 23 extends longitudinally above both oi belts 17 and. 2D. They are" supported at ,their front end by cross-member 24 close to and' below the upper surface' of pulley 11', and at their opposite ends they are suspended from' a cross-member mountedin a manner similar to cross-member 15. These bars lare. at their forward ends, in alineon end so that 'such cans immediatelyfall onto their sides with their ends extending longitudinally of the machine, and slide onto belt 17 inI thisposition. E01' this purpose the outer side portions 28 of the chutes are inclined toward one another as shown Fig. 7; and to maintain the cans with their e'nds directed longitudinally of the machine as they fall on their sides, the chutes are-,provided with-verticalside walls 29 which ment with bars y12, Aai'id'they'f are arranged sub? equilibrium.'any cans received thereon standing extend upwardly for a substantial distance in proportion to the diameter of the cans. These chutes may each conveniently be made of a pair of complementary steel angle members and they may be supported at their lower ends by riveting or welding to the rods 23 as indicated at 30. At their upper( ends they are supported by n. thin cross=member and scui plate 31 which extends between the side frames 1 of the machine and is positioned close to the surface of belt 9 as itv passes over pulley 11 so as to remove the cansl from the belt as they reach the end of the belt.

The receiving end of belt 20 is preferably positioned at an elevation slightly above the delivery end of belt 17, and an inclined scuff plate is provided' for conveying the cans between these two travel of the conveyor-belts of the machine. The` Il) cans are delivered by belt 20 at a velocity which is suflicient to carry the cans across the space between the end of belt 20 and the vertical plate 34forming the outer wall of chutes 33. The not. ends of the cans striking against this plate x'o- 10|, positions at right angles to the plate any cons; which may be delivered by the belt with their om slightly askew, thus causing the cans t0 descend along chutes 33 rolling on their sides rather than. sliding endwise. Y )nl The chutes are of sheet metal and of a width just enough greater than the length of the cans. to permit'the cans to roll freely through them., The several chutes 33 converge into a single chutey at one side of the machine thereby delivering the. 115 cans in a single line rolling on their sides.

They may be conveyed by gravity or otherwise, to the labelling machine or packing machine.

. The conveyor belts 4, 9', 17 and 20 are not'l driven at the vsame speed. The belt 4 is driven at a com- 412bV paratively slow speed, say fteen feet per minute. The belt 9 is driven at a much higher speed, that is, in the neighborhood of sixty to sixty-live feet per minute. The belt 17 is driven at about twice. the speed of belt 9, while the belt 20 is driven from 125 one and a half to two times the speed of bea i'z.l The belts are all driven from the motor 5 through suitable sprocket chains or otherwise. As shown, the shaft of the pulley 19 is directly driven from the motor through the reducing gear. 13a From this shaft the shaft of the pulley 11 of belt 9 is driven .through sprocket chain 35 and sprocket wheels of diierent sizes to reduce the speed of belt 9 to the desired extent. In like manner the pulley 2 of the receiving beit 4 i513@ driven through chain 36 and sprocket wheels o# appropriate size to further reduce the Speed o! belt 4 as desired. Also the pulley 22 of the belt 29 is driven through chain 37 from a large sprocket. wheel on the shaft of pulley 19y to thereby drive ,In belt 20 at a speed greater than belt 17.

In the operation of the machine. a load of om is dumped from a metal basket onto the belt 4 and the adjacent plates of the hopper 8. As shown in Fig. 1, such a batch of cam has been )a delivered, and the machine has not yet operated for a sufficient length of time for any of these cans to be transferred to belt 9. The slowly mov-- ing belt 4 moves the cans away as they are discharged from the basket with the cans. in vari- 1Q im space for them to fall. With sholt Cans' however eci etA

ous positions, some lying on their sides, some on end and others resting partly or wholly on the cans beneath.

The inclined sides of the hopper on the forward movement of the cans, cause the cans to gradually .converge toward the middle of the machine as they reach the pulleys 2. As the cans pass over the pulleys 2 some of those which are resting on end will be turned down on their sides by the curvature of pulleys 2 if there is suiiicient not so many of them will be turned on their sides by this means as with tall cans, and a greater number of cans will reach the end of belt 9 still standing on their ends.

-Th-e bars 12 being spaced sothat their adiacent edges are spaced apart just a little more than the diameter of` the cans, a considerable number of the cans passing over pulleys 2 will be supported partially or Wholly upon the bars 12 somewhat after the manner illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. Such cans will be pushed along the bars l2 by other cans behind them which are resting on the belt between the4 bars. Ordinarily such cans will have slipped down from the full line position shown in Figs. 4 and 5 through the tilted position shown in dotted lines into the upright position shown inl dotted lines, that is, resting on one end on the belt, before they reach the first buttonll. But whether or not the can has reached jthe upright position by the time it engages the button, the button will cause the can to turn after .the manner just` described, into the. upright or vertical position standing on its end.

As-shown, the buttons are substantially kiteshaped' with the longer' point projecting toward the-oncoming'cans and hence with its inclined edge imposition to engage the bottom edge of the lcan advancing along' the bars. This inclined face ofthe button pushes the end of the can inwardly, that is, toward the oppositerod on which the can isresting, and asvthe rods are sufciently elevated above the belt for the can not to engage the belt until clear of the bar, the can oiers but little resistance to this movement.

`The center of gravity of the can is lowered by the action. of the buttons as will be obvious from the succeeding positions of the can illustrated in Fig.' 5. Thereis therefore only the slight friction of the can against the bars and the button to be overcome in this shifting of the cans into upright position.

'I he buttons are staggered on the bars 12 as previously mentioned. As shown, for example, the second and fourth rods of the five shown in the drawing have their first buttons pushed toward the pulley 2, and the first, third and fifth bars have their first buttons spaced beyond the first mentioned buttons so that no can can be engaged by more than one button at the'same time. Usually the cans will'be all arranged between the bars 12, either lying on their sides or standing on end,`by the time thel second row of buttons is passed. However, in case the cans may be unusually piled up on the bars so that they have not been reduced to a single layer by the time the (second row of buttons is reached, an additional row of buttons may be provided, as indicated in the drawing. To take care of this contingency also and prevent the fringes of the mass of cans delivered by the belt 4 to the belt 9 from falling off from this-belt, the narrow side plates 38 are provided, extending along the sides of belt 9. As stated above, the belt 9 moves at a speed several times that of belt 4 so that although the cans may be piled up on each other to a considerable extent when discharged onto the bars 12, the rapid movement of the belt 9 will thin them out into substantially a single layer with some standing on end and some lying on their sides, as exemplified by the three cans shown in Fig. 2 on belt 9, by the time the end of belt 9 is reached.

As the cans reach pulley ll they-pass onto the scuff plate 31 and thence-down the chutes 26. As the cans enter these chutes, those on their sides merely slide down the chutes onto belt 17 and still remain on their sides. The cans which are standing on end, however, as they enter the chutes are supported only at two diametrically opposite points bythe slopingside portions 28 of these chutes. They ai e hence in unstable equilibrium and as the center of 'gravity of the cans is in front orthese points of support, the cans pitch forward onto their sides and slide down the chute, remaining in this position as they are discharged onto belt 17. This turning movement of the cans is aided by the fact that, as the cans enter the chutes, they are moving at a substantial velocity, and the friction of the stationary chutes with the bottoms of the cans tends to cause the bottoms of the cans to be slowed up slightly, thereby causing the upper portions of the cans to pitch forward.

The cans, therefore, on belt 17 are maintained in a plurality of rows by means of the bars 23 105 and are all turned on their sides somewhat as illustrated by the few typical cans shown in Fig. 2. As the belt 1'7 moves more rapidly than belt 9, it tends to separate the cans more widely in spaced end to end relation. Nevertheless if two cans are lying on theirsides in substantially end to end contact as they enter the chutes 26, the rapidity with which they descend these chutes is so great that they will not be spaced apart to any great extent after they both reach belt 17. Also, 115 if two cans when they enter chute 26 are substantially in contact with one another and the one in front is on its side while the one in the r-ear is standing on end, they will be found substantially inend to end contact when they both reach 120 the belt 17.

Accordingly, in order to insure that the cans are all spaced a substantial distance apart before they are delivered to chutes 33, although this spacing may not be uniform, the fourth belt 20 is .provided which is operated at a speed substantially greater than the speed of belt 17. As the cans reach seuil plate 32 they are slowed down by friction and may be pushed across this plate by the cans in the rear which are lying on belt 17 130 There is thus provided an appreciable time element between successive deliveries of cans from the edge of the scuff plate 32 to belt 20 and during this time interval, the can in front is carried forward rapidly by belt 2D so that the following 135 can is spaced an appreciable distance behind. When delivered to the delivery chutes 33 in such substantially spaced relation, there is ample time for each can to shoot across the space between the end of the belt and plate 34, be straightened up perpendicularly to this plate and fall bodily sideways down the chute out of the path of the succeeding can. If, however, two cans are delivered in end to end contact to the chutes 33, one or both of the cans almost certainly will be turned at right angles as it falls down the chute and will thus slide lengthwise instead of rolling.

Our improved machine is designed primarily to handle cans delivered thereto from the metal baskets now almost universally employed for 50 holding cans during the cooking operation in commercial canning establishments. It will of course be understood, however, that the machine will operate equally well on cans in whatever manner they. may be delivered to the belt 4 and hopper 8.. It will also be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction herein shownand described, but that the same may be widely varied within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

The word can as used in the appended claims is not to be construed as a limitation, but is intended to include articles of such shape and dimensions as to be handled by the machine described and claimed.

, This application is in part a continuation of copending application, Serial No. 534,226 filed May l, 1931 by Wallace D. Kimball, Cornelius Braren and John H. Mosley. and assigned to the same assignee as the present application.

We claim: y 1. In a machine of the class-described, a conveyor, means associated therewith for arranging cans conveyed by said conveyor in one or more .rows with some ofthe cans standing on'end, and

means for turning said' cans on their sides comprising a second conveyor having its receiving end below the discharge end of said-first mentioned conveyor, and an inclined chute alined with each oi said rows for transferring the cans from one conveyor to the other, said chute having a bottom the outside portions of which are inclined toward one another whereby cans standing on end are caused to turn on their sides.

' 2. In a can-arranging machine, a succession of conveyor belts for moving the cans having means associated therewith for arranging the cans thereon in rows, and means between two of said belts for turning on their sides those cans which stand on -end comprising inclined chutes having bottoms the outer portions of which are inclined toward one another.

3. In a can-arranging machine, a succession of conveyor belts for moving the cans having means associated therewith for arranging the cans thereon in one or more rows, means between two of saidbelts for turning'on their sides those cans which stand on end comprising an inclined chute alined with each of said rows, said chute having bottoms the outer portions of which areinclined toward one another, and a scu plate for removing the cans from one of said belts and delivering them to said chute` 4.In 'a can-arranging machine, a succession of conveyor belts for moving the cans having means associated therewith for arranging the cans thereon in one or more rows, and means between two of said belts for turning on their sides those cans which stand on end comprising' an im clined chute alined with each of said rows, siii: chute having abottom the outer portions otfwhioix are inclined toward one another, said chute 'Ilso having substantially vertical sidewalls im' oon nning the sides of the can in turning on itsl so as to prevent the can from turning crosswioe. s?.V 5. In a, machine of the class describea veyor for cans having means associat-ed'thexewithz for arranging the cans thereon in one'or :mom rows, means for turning on their sides those-cm which leave said belt standing on end-comprisiing a second belt having. its receiving lower elevation than the delivery end o! tho rst mentioned belt, and an inclined chute lined with cach row of cans delivered by said rst mentioned belt, saidk chute having its bottom formed to support the cans in unstable equilibrium, and a. third belt arranged to receive said cans from said'secs ond belt and space them apart from one another.

6. In a machine of the class described, a. con veyor belt adapted to receive cansan hapbamnd; arrangement, said belt having a plurality of.

,spaced substantially parallel rods overlying .the

same and forming gudeways extendingflongitu.- dinally of said belt for arranging said cans in rows, deflectors onsaid rods whereby cans lying wholly or partly on said rods are deected intopositions to lie wholly between adjacent roda means for turning on their sides cans which` stand on their ends comprising a second conveyor belt having its receiving end below the discharge end of said rst 'mentioned belt, and a plurality of inclined chutes for transferring the cans from one conveyor to the other, said chutes having bottoms the outside portions of which are inclined toward one another whereby cans standing on end lare supported in unstable quilibrium and causadto turn on their side.

'7. In a can-arranging machine a succession of 1.15 conveyor belts for moving the canshaving means 'associated therewith for arranging the cons' thereon in one or more rows, and means between two of saidbelts for turning on their sides those cans which stand on end' including an inclined 1m chute alined with each of said rows comprising a pair of spaced oppositely positioned anglebars each having in cross section a vertical portionI and a bottom portion at an obtuse angle thereto.

8. In a can-arranging machine a succession of conveyor belts for moving the cans having means associated therewith for arranging the cans thereon in rows, and means between two of said belts for turning on their sides those cans which. stand on end comprising an inclined chute havingv 1m a bottom formed to support the cans in unstable equilibrium. .t I

ARTHUR E. RDDEOUT'- JOHN H. MOSLEY. 

